Emerging from obscurity
Georges de La Tour’s Musicians’ Quarrel
By Philip McCouat
Today, the 17th century French artist Georges de la Tour has become quite famous. But until just over a century ago, virtually no-one had even heard of him. Despite achieving some fame during his lifetime, both he and his paintings fell into deep obscurity soon after he died during an epidemic in 1652, along with his wife and servant. Through the accidents of fate he became forgotten, rather like his Dutch near-contemporary Johannes Vermeer [1], and those paintings of his as did survive were typically misattributed to other artists. That certainly was the case with the extraordinary painting which is our subject in this article -- The Musicians’ Quarrel (aka Beggars’ Brawl), a painting which for many years was attributed to Caravaggio.
Today, the 17th century French artist Georges de la Tour has become quite famous. But until just over a century ago, virtually no-one had even heard of him. Despite achieving some fame during his lifetime, both he and his paintings fell into deep obscurity soon after he died during an epidemic in 1652, along with his wife and servant. Through the accidents of fate he became forgotten, rather like his Dutch near-contemporary Johannes Vermeer [1], and those paintings of his as did survive were typically misattributed to other artists. That certainly was the case with the extraordinary painting which is our subject in this article -- The Musicians’ Quarrel (aka Beggars’ Brawl), a painting which for many years was attributed to Caravaggio.
Fig 1: Georges de la Tour, The Musicians’ Quarrel (aka Beggars’ Brawl), (1620s), oil on canvas, J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 34 x 55cm
What’s happening in the painting
So, let’s now examine what’s happening in this intriguing painting. It’s surprisingly small ~ just 34 cm high (13 inches) -- yet it packs in quite a lot of action. In the centre of the painting, two bearded, elderly street musicians are struggling with other. The one on the left, with his head tossed back, has the shrunken eyes of blindness. His instrument is a hurdy gurdy which is slung over his left shoulder. He is holding a knife in his right hand, and his other hand is clenched around the crank of his instrument [2].
Fig 2: Detail of the two fighting musicians
The man squaring up to him is a piper, with his instrument hanging at his belt, and he is threatening the seemingly blind man with an oboe-like instrument [3] which he is holding crosswise in his left hand. With his right hand held aloft, he looks to be squirting the juice of a lemon in the direction of the blind man’s eyes, presumably to test if he is really afflicted [4].
On the far right, two other musicians appear to be enjoying the spectacle. One of them, a younger man, holds his fiddle as he turns towards the viewer, with a cheesy grin on his face. The other, with bagpipes, smiles faintly as he looks towards his companion.
On the far right, two other musicians appear to be enjoying the spectacle. One of them, a younger man, holds his fiddle as he turns towards the viewer, with a cheesy grin on his face. The other, with bagpipes, smiles faintly as he looks towards his companion.
Fig 3: Detail of the other musicians
Over on the far left of the painting, an old woman with her head covered is clasping the top of a stave with both hands, as she stares directly out at the viewer. Her brow is furrowed, her eyes rheumy, and her almost-toothless mouth agape in evident alarm. She is probably the companion/carer of the blind man, with a vital interest in the preservation of his ng money-making welfare.
Fig 4: Detail of woman/companion
La Tour does not disguise the characters’ wrinkles and weather-beaten faces. Their faces are illuminated by light coming from the left but, apart from the fact that the surroundings are in darkness, we are given little clue as to exactly where the painting is set, whether outside in the street, or inside a room. What we can see is that all the action takes place in a shallow space, up close to the forefront of the painting, and the characters are spread across it, as in a tableau [5]. However, the two central fighters, with their arms raised, dominate our view in the same way as in Caravaggio’s earlier The Taking of Christ, which also shares a dark background and dramatic lighting from the left (Fig 5 ) [6].
Fig 5: Caravaggio, The Taking of Christ (1602), oil on canvas, National Gallery of Ireland. Dimensions 133.5 cm x 169.5cm
We don’t know the cause of the musician’s dispute. Maybe it is a quarrel between rivals over a favoured spot where they can perform, or over whether the older man is entitled to priority because of his supposed blindness. The action almost seems staged, rather than desperately violent, despite the presence of the drawn knife. The relatively trivial struggle, the coarseness and amateurish skills of the participants, and the uncaring mockery and amusement of the other musicians suggest that this is not to be regarded as a glorious battle, but rather just a squabble among unfortunates.
Wandering or itinerant street musicians were common in Europe at this time, particularly attracting those with disabilities (real or feigned) who could hope for pity in attracting payments by passers-by, often with the easy-to-play hurdy-gurdy. It was a hand-to-mouth occupation, and they were often treated with suspicion or hostility by townsfolk, just a step higher than mere beggars [7]. “There are blind men who sit outside churches singing songs from foreign countries they have never set foot in, and then telling lying tales about how they lost their eyesight”. Serious eye problems were quite common in the 17th century, and indeed Hagen notes that one medical practitioner has diagnosed everyone in the painting, except the fiddler, as having eye problems or injury [8].
Scenes of conflict involving these musicians were frequently depicted in art at this time, for example by Jacques Bellange, another Lorraine resident, in an engraving done shortly before La Tour’s work.
Wandering or itinerant street musicians were common in Europe at this time, particularly attracting those with disabilities (real or feigned) who could hope for pity in attracting payments by passers-by, often with the easy-to-play hurdy-gurdy. It was a hand-to-mouth occupation, and they were often treated with suspicion or hostility by townsfolk, just a step higher than mere beggars [7]. “There are blind men who sit outside churches singing songs from foreign countries they have never set foot in, and then telling lying tales about how they lost their eyesight”. Serious eye problems were quite common in the 17th century, and indeed Hagen notes that one medical practitioner has diagnosed everyone in the painting, except the fiddler, as having eye problems or injury [8].
Scenes of conflict involving these musicians were frequently depicted in art at this time, for example by Jacques Bellange, another Lorraine resident, in an engraving done shortly before La Tour’s work.
Fig 6: Jacques Bellange, Fighting Beggars (1615)
So who was Georges de La Tour?
Not much is known about La Tour’s life. Based in the obscure township of Lunéville, in Lorraine, he apparently established himself as a successful painter and attracted some prestigious patrons, including even the King himself. We also know that he later came in contact with the art of Caravaggio, most likely through the circulation of prints of that artist’s work.
Personally, La Tour appears to have had a troublesome nature, sometimes resorting to violence in the latter part of his life, even rivalling Caravaggio for his reckless temper. He was variously described by his contemporaries as “haughty, sharp-tongued, self-assured, unbearably self-sufficient, stingy, and violent beyond measure” [9]. There are reports of incidents where he was accused of kicking a tax collector and raging that “he would put a bullet through the first man who came any closer”; and in beating someone with a cudgel, and inflicting injuries on another who would require surgical treatment [10]. Municipal records confirm that he refused to pay his share to feed the hungry during times of famine. He also apparently made himself obnoxious to everyone by “sending his dogs after hare into the standing crops which they trample down and ruin” [11].
Personally, La Tour appears to have had a troublesome nature, sometimes resorting to violence in the latter part of his life, even rivalling Caravaggio for his reckless temper. He was variously described by his contemporaries as “haughty, sharp-tongued, self-assured, unbearably self-sufficient, stingy, and violent beyond measure” [9]. There are reports of incidents where he was accused of kicking a tax collector and raging that “he would put a bullet through the first man who came any closer”; and in beating someone with a cudgel, and inflicting injuries on another who would require surgical treatment [10]. Municipal records confirm that he refused to pay his share to feed the hungry during times of famine. He also apparently made himself obnoxious to everyone by “sending his dogs after hare into the standing crops which they trample down and ruin” [11].
Rediscovery and reappraisal
La Tour died in 1652, probably during an epidemic, and from then on both he and his work seem to have passed into an almost total oblivion for more than two centuries. There are various possible reasons for this. During La Tour’s life, the province of Lorraine, where he was based, was highly unstable because of war, famine and territorial disputes. This would have resulted in its being outside the art mainstream, and also to the likelihood that some of his paintings may have been destroyed as war damage – indeed, it seems that much of his hometown was apparently burned to the ground during thee hostilities. In addition, as most of his paintings were held by private collectors, they did not have the continuing public or critical exposure that a painting held in a museum would enjoy. And finally, as time went on, many of his paintings – including the Musicians’ Quarrel -- were simply misattributed to other artists, such as Ribera, Zurbarán, Murillo, Velázquez, Rembrandt and Caravaggio.
It was not until 1915 that La Tour first “slipped into art history” [12], when the German scholar Hermann Voss tentatively attributed two paintings to him. This stimulated substantial positive critical interest, and resulted in a total reappraisal of many of his previously overlooked or misattributed works. So, for example, The Musicians’ Quarrel only came to attention in 1928, when it turned up in a private collection and, even then, it remained misattributed to Caravaggio until 1958 [13]. Its later auction sale to the Getty Museum in 1972 was actually the first time that a major La Tour painting came up for auction [14].
It was not until 1915 that La Tour first “slipped into art history” [12], when the German scholar Hermann Voss tentatively attributed two paintings to him. This stimulated substantial positive critical interest, and resulted in a total reappraisal of many of his previously overlooked or misattributed works. So, for example, The Musicians’ Quarrel only came to attention in 1928, when it turned up in a private collection and, even then, it remained misattributed to Caravaggio until 1958 [13]. Its later auction sale to the Getty Museum in 1972 was actually the first time that a major La Tour painting came up for auction [14].
A master of two genres
Today, La Tour is famous for two rather differing styles of painting. The first of these, of which Musicians’ Quarrel is an example, was from earlier in his career. At that time, he was strongly influenced by Dutch artists such as Hendrick ter Bruggen and, presumably, by Caravaggio’s streetwise grittiness. These were genre works, typically featuring scenes of deception, trickery or conflict, such as the Card Sharp with the Ace of Diamonds.
Fig 7: Georges de La Tour, Card Sharp with the Ace of Diamonds (1630s), Louvre Museum
The second group of paintings for which he is known are from later in his career. These typically feature religious or contemplative scenes of single persons lit only by candlelight, creating “an atmosphere of otherworldly calm” [15], forming such a contrast to his sometimes erratic behaviour. While these two styles of La Tour are outwardly different, they are linked by his fascination with dramatic lighting.
Fig 8: Georges de La Tour, Magdalen with Two Flames (1640s), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Today, La Tour’s reputation is at an all-time high. One commentator has suggested that “no artist had the success of La Tour within his own lifetime, was virtually unmentioned in any contemporary literature, exerted so little influence of art, vanished completely out of sight for [centuries] and then came back with such a vengeance” [16] -- though we can, however, probably include Vermeer’s extraordinary turn of fortunes in that very select list ■
© Philip McCouat 2025
This article may be cited as Philip McCouat, “Emerging from Obscurity: Georges de La Tour’s Musician’s Quarrel”, Journal of Art in Society (2025)
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© Philip McCouat 2025
This article may be cited as Philip McCouat, “Emerging from Obscurity: Georges de La Tour’s Musician’s Quarrel”, Journal of Art in Society (2025)
We welcome your comments on this article.
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end notes
[1] See our article Philip McCouat, “The Sphinx of Delft: Jan Vermeer’s Demise and Rediscovery”, Journal of Art in Society, www.artinsociety (2020)
[2] La Tour would go on to depict such blind hurdy-gurdy players many times
[3] Technically known as a “shawm”
[4] Philip Conisbee, Georges de La Tour & His World, NGA, Washington, Yale University Press, 1977, at 52ff
[5] Getty Museum Collection, “The Musicians’ Brawl” https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/103RCX
[6] See our article Philip McCouat, “Murder, Caravaggio and ‘The Taking of Christ’”, Journal of Art in Society (2025) https://www.artinsociety.com/murder-caravaggio-and-the-taking-of-christ.html
[7] Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen, “Courtly delight in the vagrant life”, in What Great Paintings Say, Vol 2, Taschen, Koln 2003, 215 at 216
[8] Hagen at 216; Santos-Bueso E, Sáenz-Francés F, García-Sánchez J. “Eye pathology in the paintings of Georges de la Tour: Simulation in ophthalmology: musician's brawl”, Archivos de la Sociedad Espanola de Oftalmologia, 2011 Dec; 86(12):424-425. See also our article Philip McCouat, “Bruegel’s The Blind Leading the Blind: Perception and Blindness in the 16th Century“, Journal of Art in Society https://www.artinsociety.com/perception-and-blindness-in-the-16th-century.html
[9] Polyxeni Potter, “The Iconography of Vermin”, Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2013;19(2):350-351
[10] Hagens, op cit at 218; Christopher Wright, Georges de la Tour, Phaidon, Oxford, 1977
[11] Christopher Wright, Georges de La Tour, Phaidon, Oxford, 1977 at 5; Potter, op cit
[12] Jacques Thaillier, Georges de La Tour, Flammarion, 1993, at 7
[13] Pierre Rosenberg, Marina Mojana, Georges de La Tour, Catalogue Complet des Peintures, at 33
[14] Thaillier, op cit at 283
[15] Getty Museum Collection, “Georges de La Tour” https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/person/103JY0
[16] Richard E Spear, Book Review of Georges de la Tour, by Benedict Nicholson and Christopher Wright (1974), The Burlington Magazine, Vol 118, No 877 (April 1976), pp. 233-235
© Philip McCouat 2025
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[2] La Tour would go on to depict such blind hurdy-gurdy players many times
[3] Technically known as a “shawm”
[4] Philip Conisbee, Georges de La Tour & His World, NGA, Washington, Yale University Press, 1977, at 52ff
[5] Getty Museum Collection, “The Musicians’ Brawl” https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/103RCX
[6] See our article Philip McCouat, “Murder, Caravaggio and ‘The Taking of Christ’”, Journal of Art in Society (2025) https://www.artinsociety.com/murder-caravaggio-and-the-taking-of-christ.html
[7] Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen, “Courtly delight in the vagrant life”, in What Great Paintings Say, Vol 2, Taschen, Koln 2003, 215 at 216
[8] Hagen at 216; Santos-Bueso E, Sáenz-Francés F, García-Sánchez J. “Eye pathology in the paintings of Georges de la Tour: Simulation in ophthalmology: musician's brawl”, Archivos de la Sociedad Espanola de Oftalmologia, 2011 Dec; 86(12):424-425. See also our article Philip McCouat, “Bruegel’s The Blind Leading the Blind: Perception and Blindness in the 16th Century“, Journal of Art in Society https://www.artinsociety.com/perception-and-blindness-in-the-16th-century.html
[9] Polyxeni Potter, “The Iconography of Vermin”, Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2013;19(2):350-351
[10] Hagens, op cit at 218; Christopher Wright, Georges de la Tour, Phaidon, Oxford, 1977
[11] Christopher Wright, Georges de La Tour, Phaidon, Oxford, 1977 at 5; Potter, op cit
[12] Jacques Thaillier, Georges de La Tour, Flammarion, 1993, at 7
[13] Pierre Rosenberg, Marina Mojana, Georges de La Tour, Catalogue Complet des Peintures, at 33
[14] Thaillier, op cit at 283
[15] Getty Museum Collection, “Georges de La Tour” https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/person/103JY0
[16] Richard E Spear, Book Review of Georges de la Tour, by Benedict Nicholson and Christopher Wright (1974), The Burlington Magazine, Vol 118, No 877 (April 1976), pp. 233-235
© Philip McCouat 2025
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